Holden man to be arraigned today in killing of brother

RUTLAND — The brother of a man stabbed to death in his home has been arrested and charged with murder.

Michael S. Dowjat, 65, of 119 Lovell Road, Holden, was arrested just after 4 p.m. Thursday at his home. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Western Worcester District Court in East Brookfield.

Police found David Alan, 59, dead inside a 1960s-style bomb shelter beneath his home at 124 East County Road (Route 68) on June 14 after officers were called and asked to check on him, according to a spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.

Court documents show the brothers had a history of disagreements that seemed to stem from financial issues. Mr. Alan and Mr. Dowjat, along with their father, Anthony F. Dowjat, were involved in probate court actions in the late 1980s and early 1990s over a $10,000 bond that Mr. Dowjat believed should be shared with him after the death of his mother.

At one point, Mr. Alan and his father, a retired Worcester firefighter who has since died, both sought restraining orders against Mr. Dowjat, though those appear to have expired after a year.

Mr. Alan, in a written statement to the court at that time, said his brother had threatened him and that he wanted a restraining order to keep himself safe.

Mr. Dowjat was hospitalized after apparently being taken by ambulance from his home the day after his brother's body was discovered. He was released from the UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester two days later. Authorities have not made clear why he was being treated.

State police detectives had been at Mr. Dowjat's home on June 16 while he was hospitalized. Mr. Dowjat declined to speak with a reporter days after he was released from the hospital except to say he was not handling his brother's funeral arrangements.

Neighbors said Mr. Alan was somewhat of a recluse who rarely turned on lights and mostly kept to himself. They said they'd been told the scene inside the house on the corner of East County Road and Wachusett Street was grisly.

Police in Rutland knew Mr. Alan and had interacted with him over the years.

According to the police log he often called for assistance in 2009, though the number of times he summoned police dropped off significantly from 2010 to 2014. His property was posted with signs reading "Keep Out" and "Private Property." Some of the calls he made were about attempted break-ins, though the log did not indicate any arrests in those instances.